From the Ashes
by DarknessIsTheUniverse
Summary: After hunters kill his pack Derek is running with kid Erica and Isaac, the last of his family, hiding in wolf form in a forest. After an attack, Stiles finds the two pups in the woods and takes them home to take care of them. Derek searches for them, first worried that Stiles is a threat, and then worried that Stiles might be something else altogether.
1. Chapter 1

Derek is teaching Erica how to stalk a rabbit when the hunter jumps out at Isaac and hits him in the shoulder with an arrow. The pup whines, shrill and distressed, tumbling to the ground even as he tries to run away.

Derek, already fully shifted, whirls around and lunges for the man's throat instinctively. They fight viciously, the man trying over and over again to shake Derek off and go for the two covering pups in his care. Derek drags him off, viciously biting at the arm holding the gun with the silver bullets, while Erica is left to whimper and paw at a stunned Isaac. Derek has just thrown the attacker to the ground and bitten down on his throat when the re is a crackling of leaves from behind. A split second later pain explodes behinds his eyes and he howls. Silver bullets.

He turns, staggering to face the second hunter, just in time to see the second bullets coming before it tears through his front leg. He doesn't know where he gets the strength if not from the knowledge that this man will kill what is left of his pack -but somehow he manages to lunge himself at the man tearing out his throat a second before the bullets seep all strength out of him. He collapses, even in wold form unable to heal his wounds due to the silver. He doesn't know if he is dying, only knows that he needs to get back to Erica and Isaac. He drags himself back inch by inch, huffing and whining, with blood rapidly staining his pelt.

He can hear them, nearby, their fast little heart beats -but they're not alone.

Fear rushes through Derek and he fights to drag himself further, until he can see the pups through a patch of shrubbery. Isaac is still lying on his side, bleeding, and Erica is pawing at him frantically, at the same time yapping fiercely at the human standing over them.

"Oh my," the man -boy?- says as he draws closer, and Derek struggles to move but his body wont react, paralyzed from the strain. He cannot move can only watch in horror as the human looks around, then bends down to crouch next to his pack.

"You two are in trouble, aren't you?"

xx

Stiles stares down at the two wolf pups in front of him.

He was just on his way to his usual hang out spot in the woods, and suddenly there they are, one copper one sandy, one of them bleeding, and the other utterly distressed. They are clearly wolves, although they are tiny, and Stiles spends a moment nervously looking around to see if a big bad mama wolf is about to appear and rip him to shreds for coming near her young.

Nothing happens though, the forests remains unmoved and finally he bends down, crouching on the forest floor so he can inspect the hurt wolf more closely. Its shoulder is bleeding and its whining pitifully, whether from pain or fear Stiles doesn't know.

"Hey, calm down there, buddy," Stiles tries softly, hoping against reason that he will be able to calm the animal. "No one trying to hurt you."

He experimentally reaches out to examine the wolf wound, only to have the other wolf snap at his hand, a tiny growl escaping from its pale throat.

"Whoa there, Sandy, watch the teeth, I'm just trying to help your buddy..."

He halts, looking over both wolves for a moment before coming to a realization. "Wait, it's...he's your brother, isn't he? But where are your parents then...?"

Familiar sadness washes over him, at the worst moment, the thought of two possibly orphaned siblings hitting two close to home,s till, even after all these years, even though these are animals, not people.

"Are they gone?" he whispers sadly.

They must be, otherwise they'd be here now, wouldn't they?

Sandy wolf whines, high pitched, like it's also in pain, or like it somehow senses Stiles similar emotion. Wolves can't do that though...or can they...? The little wolf stares at him for a long moment, with clear eyes, both of them at a stale mate of sorts, then it begins to paw at its copper toned brother again, eyes flitting from him to Stiles and back.

"He needs help, little wolf." Stiles doesn't know why he keeps talking, little convinced that anything about a human will actually calm a wild wolf, but he does. "I can help him, get him to a doctor."

He reaches out again, extra slowly, relieved when the wolf whines but doesn't snap at his hands again. Still, it watches closely as he carefully begins to wrap the hurt wolf into his jacket. He is getting blood everywhere but that doesn't matter now.

"Alright, a vet...think, Stiles...Deaton. Deaton is downtown, it's not far."

He can get there quickly once he's back at his truck.

"Okay, come on," he carefully scoops up the hurt little wolf. It whines, pained, and Stiles winces, "Sorry, sorry..." he mutters absently, trying to shift the little bundle to a more comfortable position.

The other wolf starts pawing at his pant leg, and Stiles thinks it's another attack, but when he bends down to gently push the little creature off, it hooks tiny claws into his arms, latching onto him.

"Ow, ow, alright, alright," he struggles to balance both wolves in his arms for a moment, worried the sandy one will scratch at his face, but it only squeezes in tightly next to its brother, nosing at him and making another truly pitiful sound.

Looks like Stiles isn't the biggest worry anymore.

He holds both pups carefully as he begins walking back towards the jeep, trying not to jostle them.

"Alright, hold, on little wolfies, help is on the way."

He doesn't think about what he will do with two wolves once he gets them to Deaton's.

xx

Through blurry, reddened vision, Derek watches the human pick up his family and walk of with them, to an unknown destination. Captivity, death maybe. He wants to leap out of the bushes and kill this third possible hunter, but darkness takes him before he can more another muscle.


	2. Chapter 2

Isaac is a mess of pain and fear, oozing distress to the point where Erica can feel it physically affecting her.

Wordless, she laps at his snout, trying her best to calm him down, but she's not their mom, she's not even Derek, she's just a scared seven year old girl slash wolf right now and even if she could talk she doesn't know if there is anything she could say to calm him down.

They might be in great danger, this might be the moment Derek always warned them about when they asked to stop running. This boy who found them, Stiles- he hasn't hurt them yet, and he doesn't seem like he wants to, but he is human, human like the hunters who killed her family, human like the hunters who shot Derek and Isaac.

Erica tenses at the thought, mentally readying herself to claw out these people's eyes if they try to hurt Isaac, the boy's, and the vet's.

"I know it hurts...but he's just trying to help," Stiles says to Isaac as though was talking to a person, which he cannot know he is.

He smells of pity and sadness though, not malice, just like he did back in the woods. Emotions cannot be faked, Erica knows this, the smell always gives them away.

The only reason she didn't try to maul Stiles' leg when he picked up her brother was that smell, that honest empathy. It told her they'd be safe, even as instinct still screamed at her to run. And they do seem safe for now. The boy has brought them to an animal clinic, and there are no hunters, no weapons. The vet is bandaging up Isaac's shoulder with surprising care.

"The mother might be dead," he says to Stiles, who nods, looking unhappy.

"What shall I do? I can't just leave them to themselves out there, not hurt, not when someone may have tried to hurt them."

He looks over Isaac and then Erica, so sad that the sandy wolf feels like whining and lapping at that frown.

"I cannot take care of them here," the vet says, "and it's unlikely anyone will want them. They're wolves after all, predators."

"Are you kidding me?" Stiles asks, indignation in his voice, "Look at their cute like faces, they're nothing but little bundles of fluff."

Erica knows it's stupid, but she cannot help but mewl happily at that. Stiles looks over and smiles slightly, sighing.

"I'll take them home with me...until his wound has healed. Then I'll see if they can be left to their own devices."

Deaton finishes up the treatment and Erica doesn't fuss when Stiles picks up her and Isaac, who is pretty groggy still.

She may be little still, but she understands the risks of going with this boy. They are smaller than being out all alone with a hurt Isaac without Derek to take care of them. She doesn't know where Derek is, how badly he is hurt...but if he can, he will find them, and until then someone will have to take care of her brother.

Everything Stiles has said and done so far inspires confidence in him.

"You hungry, Sandy?" Stiles asks after he sets her down in the driver's seat.

That pretty much seals the deal.


	3. Chapter 3

Xxx

Night has fallen by the time he gets home, so thankfully Stiles manages to get the wolves into his house without any prying eyes.

He knows it is illegal to own wolves, and though he technically doesn't own them, he thinks it best if no one knows. Who knows if whoever wacko hunter hurt them might be looking for them still. Stiles only lives a couple of miles away from the forest he found the pups in.

He makes sure to close the curtains in all the rooms before turning on the lights.

Then, he sets the wolves down on his kitchen counter, mindful of the half-dried blood still all over them.

The injured one is more aware now, whining and wiggling relentlessly. It can't be pain, because Deaton gave him something, so Stiles figures it must be anxiety.

"It's alright, buddy," he tries soothing it again stupidly, "You're out of the woods now. Literally, huh? Just you and Little Red Riding Hood" He points at his red sweater, snorts, then berates himself for laughing at his own pathetic jokes. God, he needs friends. Human friends.

Stiles sighs and wets a towel, then carefully tries to clean the little wolf's fur of blood. It keeps wiggling out of his grip, no matter how many times he murmurs that it's okay (doesn't seem legit apparently). Finally, the little sandy wolf huffs and jabs its little nose into her brother's snout. Stiles watches in amazement as the other wolf actually settles down after that.

"Right on, Sandy, he whistles, "Look at us, already a dream team."

There is no reaction from Sandy -obviously- she keeps licking her brother's muzzle, as though in comfort. Stiles tries not to get choked up at the sight. God, he misses his parents.

"It's a good thing you're looking out for each other," he mutters, cleaning the towel, "especially if you're all the family you have left. I should have done that when I still could."

Distracted, he starts slightly when something cold touches his hand. It's sandy wolf, surprisingly having come closer. She seems far less wary of him now than her brother for some reason. Stiles stares in surprise for a moment, until she nudges his hand again and nips it with her tiny teeth.

"Ouch," Stiles says, more out of habit than actual discomfort, "I guess that means you're hungry. Well, let's get you something before you devour Uncle Stiles in his sleep, because that would be bad, bad, bad."

He wiggles his finger in front of the little wolf which only stares (duh) and then tries to bite at his finger again. Quickly, Stiles finds some meat in the fridge that he was going to cook for dinner the next day. He cuts it into little pieces and puts it in a bowl in front of the wolves. "There you go, that's way better than dog food, isn't it, guys?"

From the way they wolf it down it is.

Stiles builds the little wolves a bed out of old blankets in the kitchen, near the heater. There he deposits both, then finds a little container for them to do their business in. He has little hope they will, but at least they are sleeping on tiles.

"Alright, little buddies, you sleep it off now. I'll see you in the morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed." He grins for a second, thinking of that chipmunk movie, then remembers that he needs to stop doing that goddammit.

The pups seem much less anxious now, even the hurt one, considering they are in a human's house, a strange place. Instead of roaming around and scratching at the doors they simply lie down on the blankets, curled around each other.

Stiles stands for a moment, wondering vaguely if this is worrisome and at the same time feeling his heart swell at the sheer adorableness of it, then he makes himself walk out.

He falls asleep on the couch watching TV.

xxx

Derek doesn't know how long he has been unconscious for when he comes to.

It's night time and the forest around him is completely devoid of any human sounds. Completely devoid of Erica and Isaac.

He panics immediately, trying to get up and search for them, but his wounds won't let him. He is healing, he knows, but the silver makes the process agonizingly slow.

The human, he thinks, the human took them away...if he was a hunter...if they are dead...he promised their mother, his aunt, that he would take care of them...

But if he was a hunter...why did he leave his colleagues? The dead hunters are still lying around Derek. The human must not have seen them, just like he didn't see Derek. Maybe that's a good sign...maybe he is not one of them...The hope is slim, and Derek knows that even if so, the human is likely still a threat to Erica and Isaac, even if he just wants to sell them. But if it is just one human, then he can find him, and save them...

He just has to heal- Derek sinks back into the grass, exhausted. He has to heal.

With all the strength he has, he lets out a loud howl, praying they can hear him wherever they are.

'Erica, Isaac, I'm coming for you.'


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks everyone for reviewing! I hope you'll like the next parts of this story. Sry chapters are short but so is time atm sigh.

Yes, this is Sterek, and they will soon meet, but for now I wanna build the relationship between Isaac and Erica and Stiles :)

xxx

* * *

Erica and Isaac wait until they can hear Stiles' breathing flatten out, and then they wait some more to make sure he is fast asleep before they shift.

Erica knows it's easier to talk that way but she still frowns at her brother, "You need to stay a wolf if you want to heal faster." Isaac claps his hurt shoulder, gazing up at her miserably, "We have to get out of here, Erica. It's not safe."

"Nowhere is safe," she shakes her head, "If Derek comes for us he will find us here...if not...you need to be healed before we can run. There is food here, medicine, shelter. We're staying."

Isaac casts as nervous look in the human's reaction. Erica understands, they don't exactly have reason to trust humans.

"He could have called someone by now if he wanted to give us away. He hasn't."

"He still could."

Erica grimaces. "Shift back and go to sleep. I'll stay up and watch him. Do it."

Isaac grumbles unhappily, but he knows better than to fight her. Erica always wins.

He shifts back, the aura of his pain immediately easing, and Erica gets up to look around now that she is a bit taller on two legs. The house is big from what she has seen, too big for one person, and it smells like there hasn't been anyone but Stiles here in a long time. She thinks of his little comments here and there...

There are pictures over the fireplace. They show a younger version of Stiles, an older picture of a woman and the portrait of a man in uniform with a black ribbon around the frame.

Erica understands enough about death to know what that means. Stiles is an orphan too, like them.

She turns towards the couch, watching the human who is sprawled out under a blanket closely.

Isaac is right to be apprehensive, but somehow, thanks to some instinct she cannot place, she just knows that Stiles is no danger to them. That he is good.

She stalks closer, sniffing the air around him and trying to figure out if it has something to do with the way he smells. It usually does...

Just as she stands over him, Stiles suddenly stirs, blinking, and Erica panics and shifts into a wolf mid-motion, falling right on top off him.

Stiles jerks with a startled ouff, half catching her once he realizes it's her.

"Can't sleep, sandy wolf?" He tries to lift her but Erica hooks tiny claws into his shirt, making herself stick. Stiles sighs and pulls the blanket over her instead. "Alright then. But no snoring. And no munching on the sleepy human, yeah?"

And with that he has already dozed back off, softly snoring.

Erica deliberates for moment before letting her head sink down on the boy's chest. This is a good vantage point, she decides. She can see Isaac from here and as long as she is lying on his chest Stiles cannot make any potentially dangerous moves. She's got this.

Satisfied, Erica cuddles into the blanket and breathes in warmth.


End file.
